Drag for spinning reel



Oct. 4, 1955 H. W. DENISON ETAL DRAG FOR SPINNING REEL Filed Nov. 7,1952 INVENTORS Hnwzv Wnenru Dav/401v hora A Jam/sou E OW; LyZK ATTORNEY]United States Patent DRAG FOR SPINNING REEL Henry Warren Denison andLloyd Johnson; Manlrato, Minn., assignors to Denison-Johnson, Inc.,Mankato, Minn, a corporation of Minnesota Application November 7, 1952,Serial No. 319,208

4 Claims. (Cl. 242-845) This invention relates generally to improvementsin fishing reels of the type now widely used in the practice of thespinning methods of fishing, and more particularly relates to animproved drag mechanism for such reels.

The present invention is also an improvement specifically in the type offishing reels shown in our prior applications Serial No. 179,188, filedAugust 14, 1950, now Patent No. 2,644,647, and Serial No. 247,304, filedSeptember 19, 1951, now Patent No. 2,667,312. In these reels thespinning line is coiled upon a line spool, located in a suitable frameor housing upon a bearing assembly therein and the line in actualoperation is coiled upon thespool by means of a spoofing member, whichis rotated by a crank and which member has a normally projecting pin forspooling the line. Said spooling member is also adjustable in an axialdirection by means of an exposed control button and when so positionedthe said pin is withdrawn and the line may peel or flow off the end ofthe spool, while the spool remains stationary, in accordance with thespinning principle. It is necessary, however, to provide means forpermitting precisely adjustable and restricted rotation of the normallystationary spool and this drag mechanism, as it is called, is for thepurpose of permitting a heavy fish to take line otf of the spool, eventhough the spooling member may be in operation to reel in the line, tothus act as a safety factor and prevent breakage of the line.

Inasmuch as the fishing lines used for spinning are in many cases ofvery low tensile test, it follows that this drag mechanism must be veryprecisely adjustable so that rotation of the spool will be permittedwhen the pull .upon the line is slightly less than the breaking strengththereof. It is accordingly the primary object of our present inventionto provide drag mechanism having the desired characteristics of preciseadjustment, the ability to maintain this adjustment once it is made, andwhich is of simple and durable construction. A further object is toprovide drag mechanism in which the drag force exerted upon the spoolmay be adjusted from a low minimum to a maximum of high magnitude and inwhich the power of a leverage action is used for accomplishing thispurpose.

These and other more detailed and specific objects will be disclosed inthe course of the following specification, reference being had to theaccompanying draw- 'ings, in which- Fig. 1 is a side elevation of aspinning reel according to" our invention.

Fig. .2 is an enlarged and substantially diametric'al section throughthe reel taken approximately along the line 2--2 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view of the center portion 2' of themechanism as taken substantially along the line 3-3 in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a detail in elevation and in diametricalsection of the centerportion of the reel and the elements constituting our improved dragmechanism.

Fig. 5 is. a composite'side and edge view of one of the drag disks. 7

Inasmuch as the reel mechanism per se as; here dis closed issubstantiallyidentical to that described in detail in our correspondingprior applications, the as scription will be condensed herein and to apoint only necessary for an understanding of the present invenion.Referring then more particularly and by reference characters to thedrawing, the reel comprises a frame or housing, designated generally at10, havinga circular frame or side plate 11 with: a peripheral flange"over which there is removably fitted a conical cover 12, as best seen inFig. 2. The usual tang 13 is secured to the side plate for mounting thereel upon the fishing rod and at the center the side plate has anopening 14 in which there is mounted a tubular, stationary bearing 15.On the outer side of the plate this bearing is' en.- large'd at16 andwithin the reel the opposite end 05 the bearing is threaded toaccommodate; in succession, a tapped retainer nut or stop 17 and a locknut 18". Mounted about the bearing" 15is a line" spool 19 can struct'edas clearly shown and having an apertured and fiat center portion 20fitted over the bearing. The cover 12 is provided with a line guide oreyelet 21 on the axis of the bearing 15 and in practice the line,designated at 22, which is coiled upon the spool is payed out or" takenin through this line guide, as indicated. I

Rotatably mounted through the bearing 15 is a tubular shaft 23 and atone end thereof there is located a circular line spooling member 24,which is fixed by a nut 25 on a shaft 26, slidably mounted out throughthe shaft 23. A control button 27 is threaded on the outer end of theshaft 26 and is exposed at the outer center of the reel so that theangler may operate the same by pushing it inward against the resistanceof, a spring 28 to move the spooling member 24 from the operative,spooling position illustrated in Fig. 2 axially awayfroni the spool.This motion of the spooling member 24', by the control button 27,carries a spooling pin 29 off a cam 30 which is secured to the inner endof the tubular shaft 23 and this pin, which is slidable radially ofspooling member, will then be moved inward by the action of a spring, apart of which appears at 31 until the end 32 of the pin is flush withthe rim of the spool ing member. In such condition the line 22 mayobviously flow freely oil the end of the spool 19, without rotationthereof.

To pick up and respool the line the tubular shaft 23 is rotated by meansof a crank 33, turning the sam 30 until its low point or point nearestthe axis of rotation registers with the pin 29, whereupon the spring 28will reassert itself and will return the spooling member td itsoperative position adjacent the spooL'and the continned rotation of theshaft 23 will cause the cam 30"to project the pin 29 outward, its end 32then respooling the line. The necessary braking force upon the spoolingmember 24, so that the cam 30 will turn with reference thereto in againpicking 'up' and reprojecting the pin 29, is' provided by a brake disk34 held between the nuts 1-7 and 18 and engaging the spooling member,-as indicated at 35, there being spring washers 36 at opposite sides ofthe disk 34 to frictionally resist rotation thereof This in general isthe construction of the reel forming the subject matter of our earliestfiled application and it is believed that no further description shouldbe necessary herein. Various refinements of the bearing constructionhere shown are also found in our second application and in accordancetherewith the present disclosure illustrates the tubular shaft 23 asdriven by a pinion 37 and a larger gear 38 to which the crank 33 isconnected, in order to speed up the retrieve of the line. Since certaindetails of the bearing structure and gear and crank arrangement are alsonecessary to an understanding of this invention, they will now be setforth in the description of the drag mechanism.

Fitted upon the bearing is a hollow center sleeve 39 diametricallyenlarged at the end adjacent the side platell forming an annular fulcrumor shoulder 44). At opposite sides the center of the spool 19 is engagedby drag disks 41 and 42, both of which have large center openings at 43to accommodate the bearing assembly and which are thus of washer-likeshape. bears against the retainer or stop 17 thus limiting axialmovement of the spool away from the side plate 11, while the oppositedrag disk 42 is thrust against the spool by means of a washer-shapedfollower 44 which is spaced from the aforesaid fulcrum 40. The gears37-38 are accommodated within a gear casing 45 secured by screws 46 tothe side plate 11, and the gear 38 has a hollow, elongated hub 47 onwhich the crank 33 is fitted and secured as usual by a crank nut 48. Theusual bearing 49 extends outward from the gear case 46. The tubular hub47 of the gear is also rotatably mounted upon a stationary, and alsotubular, bearing post 59 which is secured at its inner end to the sideplate 11 and extends outwardly therefrom to the center of the crank. Adrag shaft 51 is rotatably mounted through the bearing post and at itsouter end carries a knurled drag adjusting knob 52 non-rotatably mountedat 53 on the shaft and held thereto by a nut 54. As seen in Fig. 2 thisknob 52 is hollowed out at 55 to clear but enclose the crank nut 48. Theinner end of the drag shaft 51 is threaded into a tapped opening 56 atone end 57 of a drag ad- The drag disk 41 justing fork 58, thebifurcated ends of which extend to the axis of the spool between thefollower 44 and fulcrum 40 and engage the former at diametricallyopposed points (Fig. 3). An expansion coil spring 59 is engaged betweenthe end 57 of the fork and the counterbored inner end 60 of the bearingpost 59 to exert spring pressure In the operation of the reel it will benoted that a pull upon the line 22, when the spooling member 24 is inits operative position and spooling the line upon the spool, might wellcause the line to break unless the spool is permitted to revolve. Shoulda heavy fish strike the lure the line might thus be broken, but the draghere presented will permit the spool to turn and the line to pay. out,even though the crank 33 may continue to turn in the anglers effort toretrieve line. Thus the drag mechanism acts as a safeguard against thebreakage of the line and is adjusted so that the line may pay out whenthe pull thereon is slightly less than the tensile strength of the line.In accordance with our present invention this drag is adjusted byturning the knurled knob 52 which rotates the shaft 51 and causes itsthreaded inner end to move the end 57 of the fork 58 toward and awayfrom the side plate 11. Between this end 57 and the bifurcated ends ofthe fork the fulcrum 40 engages the fork so that such adjustment veryprecisely affects the leverage exerted by the fork between the fulcrumand the adjacent follower 44. Thus as viewed. in Fig. 2 the motionof theupper end of the fork to the right and toward the side plate 11 willrock the same about the fulcrum 40 (the threaded connection havingsufficient play for the purpose) and increase the pressure of thebifurcated ends of the fork against the follower, increasing themagnitude of the frictional pressure of the drag disks 41 and 42 uponthe opposite sides of the spool. Inasmuch as the spring 59 opposes thisadjustment of the fork, the spring does not in itself exert the drag butit does contribute to maintaining the adjustment once it is made. Actualpractice demonstrates that the drag force upon the spool not only may bequite precisely adjusted, and due to the leverage by which the force isapplied a drag of comparatively high magnitude may be exerted withoutdifiiculty.

The drag disks 41 and 42 are preferably made up from a non-metallic andself-lubricating material, such as sheet nylon impregnated withgraphite, and which material is commercially available.

It is understood that suitable modifications may be made in thestructure as disclosed, provided such modifications come within thespirit and scope of the appended claims. Having now therefore fullyillustrated and described our invention, what we claim to be new anddesire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. In a fishing reel of the character described, a frame, a stationarybearing in the frame, a line spool rotatably mounted on the bearing, aspooling member for spooling line on the spool, means extending throughthe bearing for rotating and operating said spooling member, a cranklocated off the center of the bearing and gears connecting the crank tothe spooling member, a drag mechanism including a drag disk operative onthe spool to resist rotation thereof, a fork for positioning the dragdisk and urging the same against the spool, and a drag operating shaftadjustably connected to the fork and extending outward through the axisof the crank.

2. For a spinning reel of the character described having a frame sideplate and a stationary bearing thereon, a line spool mounted on thebearing and stop means holding the spool against axial displacement awayfrom the plate, and means for spooling line on the spool and forpermitting line to flow off the spool while the same remains stationary;the improvement which comprises drag disks engaging opposite sides ofthe reel at its center, a sleeve on the bearing and having adiametrically enlarged end braced against the side plate and forming afulcrum, a follower disk between the fulcrum and the drag disk at theadjacent side of the reel, a fork having a bifurcated end locatedbetween the fulcrum and follower, and means for swinging the fork in aradial plane with respect to the axis of the spool into contact with thefulcrum to exert adjustabl leverage on the follower. 1

3. For a spinning reel of the character described having a frame sideplate and a stationary bearing thereon, a line spool mounted on thebearing and stop means holding the spool against axial. displacementaway from the plate, and means for spooling line on the spool and forpermitting line to flow off the spool while the same remains stationary;the improvement which comprises drag disks engaging opposite sides ofthe spool at its center, a sleeve on the bearing and having adiametrically enlarged end braced against the side plate and forming afulcrum, a follower disk between the fulcrum and the drag disk at theadjacent side of the reel, a fork having a bifurcated end locatedbetween the fulcrum and follower, a shaft threaded through the fork andoperative to urge the same against the fulcrum to exert leverage on thefollower toward the spool, and a spring on said shaft for urging thefork in an opposite direction.

4. For a spinning reel of the character described having a frame sideplate and a stationary bearing thereon, a line spool mounted on thebearing and stop means holding the spool against axial displacement awayfrom the plate, and meansfor spooling line on the spool and forpermitting line to flow off the spool while the same remains stationary;the improvement which comprises drag disks engaging opposite sides ofthe spool at its center, a sleeve on the 5 6 bearing and having adiametrically enlarged end braced References Cited in the file of thispatent against the side plate and forming a fulcrum, a follower diskbetween the fulcrum and the drag disk at the adjacent UNITED STATESPATENTS side of the reel, a fork having a bifurcated end located be-1,024,739 Murgas 1912 tween the fulcrum and follower, a crank foroperating the 5 1892541 Smelser 1932 reel, a drag shaft journaledthrough the axis of the crank 2,502,814 1950 and having a threadedconnection at one end with the 2,581,941 shmn et a1 1952 fork, and aknob on the other end of the drag shaft at the 2,600,558 Mauborgne June17, 1952 center of the crank for adjusting the fork against the2,621,859 Mcqash 16, 1952 fulcrum and exerting adjustable leverageagainst the 10 2,644,647 Demson ct a1 July 1953 f ll 2,667,312 Denisonet a1 Jan. 26, 1954

